From Parts Unknown: WWE 2K16 Coming To PC March

I still don’t understand why WWE 2K15 [official site] came to PC so many months after the initial console release and, well, here we are again. The latest entry in the pro wrestling series will arrive on PC March 11th, having landed on consoles at the end of October last year. We’ll get all of the DLC, and the PC version will be equivalent to the current-gen console release. That’s good, because if we were getting the cut-down PS3/360 version, I’d have taken it as confirmation of a 2K heel turn.

That this is the current-gen version means there’s a full career mode and the biggest roster ever in a WWE game. There were 160 characters on the initial roster and more have been added in the included DLC. That’s a lot of wrasslers. I’m still disappointed that NXT’s Four Horsewomen weren’t included – Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Becky Lynch, and Bayley – and that seems even more ridiculous now that the championship scene on the main roster involves three of them. The Women’s Champ isn’t in the game.

There are loads of NXT and Legends debuts though, including Larry Zbyszko, The Vaudevillains and king of heels, Kevin Owens. Oh, and you can play as Arnie as a Terminator, in both T1 and T2 incarnations. That’s still not as ridiculous as Robocop.

I was super-excited about the career mode before release because it uses promos and backstage interviews to set your character’s heel/face alignment (that’s whether the crowd are supposed to cheer or boo you, whether you’re a hero or a villain), and seemed like it might be taking a big step toward being the kind of WWE RPG I want to see. From what I’ve read since release, it’s a babystep. Still, the whole package sounds much better than last year’s dismal effort.

Along with in-ring improvements, there are better creation suites (including the return of customisable women wrestlers) and a big ol’ Steve Austin showcase mode, because the Attitude Era will never die. Universe mode, which allows you to book your own shows and either simulate or play the matches as rivalries develop, has apparently received some TLC as well.

Being a wrestling fan involves a lot of hope. Hope that the more unpleasant tendencies of the business will be drowned by the good, hope that the creativity of the booking and writing will allow your favourites a moment in the spotlight, and hope that injuries don’t threaten the wellbeing or career of anyone at all. I hope the wait for WWE 2K16 will be worthwhile. But I also still hold onto a glimmer of hope that Daniel Bryan’s retirement is a work and that he’ll storm the ring as his music hits at Wrestlemania.

Being a wrestling fan involves a lot of hope. And great big dollops of disappointment.